Tyler Hawn Honored For Inaugural OSCAAR Hot Rod Series Championship

Even though most of the teams are already busy preparing for the 2018 campaign, there was still some left over business from last year as 2017 OSCAAR Hot Rod Series Champion Tyler Hawn was recognized at the series banquet on Saturday, February 3.

The car counts on a weekly basis weren’t always solid – as expected in an inaugural season, but there were some nice high points. After the inaugural event had seven cars on track at Kawartha Speedway, the series grew to have a total of 11 at Sunset Speedway’s Velocity 250.

“The Hot Rods – they were a little slow getting going, but by year’s end, we had the cars, and it’s growing as well – and it’s great to see,” OSCAAR President Dave Gainforth said.

Already next year the numbers look to be much higher, with at least 20 cars expected on-track via the early registration count.

With two victories and six top-fives, Hawn was crowned the inaugural series champion. At the banquet, he was presented with a trophy for his accomplishments, as well as the debut of the series trophy, which will be held by each champion holder each season. OSCAAR thanks Gary Elliott for the trophy, as it was donated to the series by the modified veteran.

“So I’ve been racing for long time now, and this is my first championship,” Hawn said. “Some people may say that you didn’t have a lot of cars show up or whatever, but that doesn’t matter – first is the first, right?

“When the idea came up for this car, Dad was all over it. The only reason the car looks like that was because of Dad. He was 90% the guy that made that body, and it brought back all those memories of his old cars. If you put that car and his old cars side-by-side, identical – the way he rolled the fenders, and the way the tires stick out. That race there was Kawartha, and the look on his face that night was just – I’ll never forget it.

“I got to thank Steve Fox. If it wasn’t for Steve, this car wouldn’t have happened. I thank Darryl for making it look so nice, and the crew. There’s endless hours in that body – there’s more hours in that body than there is in rebuilding the super late all winter. Thank you.”

With a solid season, OSCAAR is now putting full focus towards the upcoming 2018 campaign, which should be filled with great racing, lots of competition, and fun across the entire province of Ontario based on early indications.

“The schedule for next year is going to be competitive for all classes as we travel all over Ontario to see who will be the OSCAAR Champions for 2018,” Gainforth said. “With the demand from tracks for dates, we are definitely on the right path and our future is secure.”

Be sure to stay tuned to the OSCAAR website for details leading into the season.